Peru joins Shield of the Americas!
Marco Rubio
Lima, Sep 10 (EFE).-
Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori confirmed on Thursday that her country will join the Shield of the Americas, the coalition against transnational organized crime, following a meeting at the Government Palace with the United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
In a joint statement, Fujimori stated that the primary topic addressed during the meeting was “how to confront transnational organized crime and public insecurity.” In that regard, she announced that the nation will join the Shield of the Americas, an initiative promoted by US president Donald Trump, joined already by 15 countries with right-wing governments aligned with Trump.
“Having had to face terrorism ourselves, we know the necessity of joining forces with other nations,” the president declared, asserting that “Peru’s sovereignty remains intact” with its accession to the Shield of the Americas.
She added that joining the initiative will allow Peru to “obtain information faster and act with greater resolve.”
“From Peru, we will act with all the authority granted to us by law and the Constitution,” she emphasized.
For his part, Rubio declared that criminal groups are, nowadays, transnational terrorist networks with financial ties that “are trying to take over the hemisphere.”
“We are glad you were elected president. You promised to confront this, and we are going to assist you as much as possible,” the Secretary of State said, addressing Fujimori.
Rubio added that the presence of criminal gangs in the region poses “a direct threat to the United States” because they endanger sovereignty and are organized groups possessing “more funds and equipment” than the armed forces in several countries across the region.
The Secretary of State clarified that while the United States has “the capacity to act unilaterally.” However, the nation prefers to have partners. “We need to do it inside the sovereign territory of countries and we want to partner with those countries,” he added.
“We do not wish to act unilaterally. These are terrorist groups that extort the public and commit all kinds of crimes; they are groups we must defeat,” he stated.
In turn, Fujimori highlighted that it is “of vital importance to know that the US is paying political attention to Latin America,” stating that previous administrations “did not give it the attention it deserved.”
“We will be able to take direct action. On our side, we have the firm determination to confront them, and with these tools, we will be able to act much more swiftly,” the head of state assured.
During the meeting, both representatives also discussed bilateral cooperation regarding natural disasters, such as the El Niño climate phenomenon, as well as the promotion of investment and trade.
Rubio’s meeting with Fujimori at the Government Palace, located in Lima’s historic center, was the final stop on his South American tour, which also included visits to Ecuador and Colombia. EFE
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